Turkish-backed armed groups clash in northern Syria
Since the Turkish-backed FSA took control of areas north of Aleppo and some areas of the countryside of Raqqa and Hasakah, the bombings that claimed hundreds of civilian lives never stopped, nor did the kidnappings and assassinations, while clashes erupted among some factions allied with Turkey.
The Turkish army, in cooperation with the Syrian opposition’s Free Syrian Army (FSA), launched a military operation to expel the Islamic State (IS) from the cities of Jarablus, al-Bab and al-Rai in northern Syria on Aug. 24, 2016. This operation was dubbed Operation Euphrates Shield, after which the area was then named.
However, since then the area has been experiencing security chaos, as kidnappings and explosions, especially using rigged motorcycles, are almost ongoing, not to mention the continuous clashes among factions affiliated with Ankara.
Meanwhile, security chaos also prevails and weapons spread in the city of Afrin and its countryside, which the FSA factions controlled following Operation Olive Branch, the Turkish-backed operation to expel the Kurdish forces on Jan. 20, 2018. This chaos is manifested through assassinations, kidnappings, ransoms, and car and motorcycle bombings as well as explosive devices.
The area where Turkey launched Operation Peace Spring on Oct. 9, 2019, in cooperation with the FSA to expel the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), is subjected to dozens of rigged car and motorcycle explosions in the cities of Ras al-Ain and Tell Abyad and the towns of Tal Halaf, Suluk and Hamam al-Turkman, claiming dozens of victims, the majority of whom are civilians.
